Repent at Leisure
by Kathryn Claire O'Connor
Summary: For their own reasons, both Spencer and JJ regret the latter's marriage to Will. Inspired by quotes from William Congreve's "The Mourning Bride"


Heaven hath no rage like love to hatred turned,

Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.

~ William Congreve, _The Mourning Bride_

* * *

She had asked him for his help. Even months later, this fact would come back to him at the oddest of times. Like now: Spencer was sitting at home, in the middle of a perfectly good _Doctor Who _marathon, when this woman came onto the screen who looked a lot like JJ. Or maybe she didn't even look like his coworker. Heck, nowadays if it was a human being who had curves, it made him think of her. Apparently this person didn't even have to be an actual _woman_. He had seen the back of someone with long blonde hair once after everything had gone down, and then realized only once he had snapped out of his JJ-centered daydreaming that the person who had brought on the thoughts was apparently a man. It was then that he realized how pathetic he was being about the whole situation, especially since he still believed that he was right in giving her the answer that he had.

When a woman's long-standing significant other is in the middle of a dangerous situation involving a bank holdup and the child of said woman and man, no matter how much the woman may or may in fact not love her significant other, said woman – in this case JJ – was not in any position to be making good and rational decisions. So, when JJ had come to him that day and asked him if Will didn't make it out of this situation alive, would Spencer consider helping her with Henry, taking care of her and her young son if need be, and maybe even getting "back together" with her, Spencer had said "no."

Understand; he had no problems whatsoever with the idea of helping JJ and Henry out, but it was that final clause of the question that he knew to be impossible. He loved JJ like a big sister. The one date that they had been out on together so long ago had been among the top ten most awkward experiences in his life, and as a boy who had gone to high school at twelve years old; he had quite the list of awkward experiences. He simply hadn't wanted to hurt her by promising her something that he ultimately wouldn't be comfortable giving her should the circumstances arise that made it even a possibility. However, in trying not to hurt her, he was afraid that he had helped to do more damage then he would have ever seen coming.

Being totally, uncharacteristically impulsive, she had asked Will to ask her again if she would marry him that very day, and this time when he did, she had said "yes," although pretty much everyone but Will had picked up on the fact that she didn't actually love him, was only still with him for Henry's sake. Spencer thought that maybe he was being irrational, or even egotistical, but he couldn't help but wonder if he had said "yes" to JJ's agreement – although it would have ended up being completely needless anyway – would she have still married Will so suddenly? Had she only done so to prove a point to him when he had essentially rejected her? After all, she had pretty much been trying to hit on him in the middle of a highly stressful situation is what had happened. She had been so stressed out that she didn't know what to do, and had probably simply been trying to distract herself – and he hadn't even allowed her that.

There was no way for Spencer to know, and he could only hope that she was somehow happy in her new married life.

* * *

Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure,

Married in haste we may repent at leisure.

~ William Congreve, _The Mourning Bride_

* * *

_Why?_

JJ asked herself that question almost every morning when she woke up lying in bed beside her husband. Why had she done it? Why had she been so utterly stupid as to marry a man that she knew full well – had known even then – that she did not love? In some ways, Will was her best friend, and he was without a doubt the father of the most precious person on this earth to her, but she did not love him, at least emotionally, the way that a woman should love her husband.

So she frequently found herself waking up with sunlight streaming into her windows and she asked herself, _why did I marry him?_

The truth – the completely pitiful truth – be told, she had done it because she was angry, angry and hurt by Spencer Reid, of all people, having rejected her. That and she had been way, way too high on adrenaline that fateful day.

Don't get her wrong, it really had been wonderful at first, how romantic Will had been, knowing that they were finally married – that she was finally his wife – but then life had settled down into the same familiar pattern where they had left off, only this time she was now married to the man with no acceptable reason to leave him. After all, if she did that, it would almost certainly mean that he would no longer want them to live together – she knew that Will would hate the idea of them going back to their unwed, pre-wedding state – and that would mean that their son would have to bounce back and forth between two houses. That was the last thing in the world that she wanted for Henry, and so it appeared that she was stuck where she was in a web of her own making with no foreseeable way out.

Now, all because she had been adrenaline high and mad at her once-upon-a-time-in-a-very-weird-sort-of-way ex-boyfriend of sorts, she was learning all too well what was meant by that old saying "marry in haste and repent at leisure."

* * *

**This is an idea that came to me just now, inspired by the included quotes, and I decided to write it down on the spot. I'm not sure whether it's silly or not. Oh well; hopefully you guys enjoyed it either way. The review button is quickly becoming my best friend, if you feel so inclined. Thanks!:) **


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